Former Coronation Street star Charlie De Melo has confirmed the first role he'll be taking on following his exit from the ITV soap. Fans said a sad goodbye to Imran Habeeb earlier this month.
The solicitor suffered a big fall from grace in recent months after secretly fathering a baby with Abi Franklin before playing dirty to make sure he got custody of his son. But, as ever in soap land, it all ended in dramatic fashion when Imran and new wife Toyah were involved in a car crash.
While he was the one to pull Toyah from the wreckage of the smashed up motor before scaffolding fell from the building she had ploughed in to, it was Imran who lost his life after he suddenly collapsed from a cardiac arrest on the scene as his wife was loaded into an ambulance.
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Now, weeks after viewers saw him on-screen for the last time and a couple of months since he officially tread the cobbles, Charlie has revealed what is next for him.
Taking to Instagram, the 32-year-old shared a casting announcement for new play, The Clothes They Stood Up In, which is Adrian Scarborough’s adaptation of Alan Bennett’s book of the same name. Charlie joins Olivier Award-winning actors Sophie Thompson, who has starred in EastEnders, Corrie and Sex Edcuation to name a few, and Gavin and Stacey's Adrian Scarborough.
"When I first announced to my (utterly bewildered) parents, about 1000 years ago, that I wanted to make a try at being an Actor, my Mum (presumably after the shock and disappointment had worn off) gave me three provisos, if this was the path I wished for myself," Charlie wrote alongside a poster showing the announced cast for the play.
"Three things she wanted for my life and career. Very pleased to say that, as of today, I've ticked the second off that list. This theatre, with this material, with this combination of people involved. I can't wait to get started."
And his former Corrie co-stars were among to share their best wishes and reactions to his first post-soap gig. Sally Carman, who plays Abi Webster, wrote: "Ooooooh! Very exciting!" Todd Grimshaw actor Gareth Pierce wrote: "Go strong, amigo! Thrilled for you."
Jane Danson, best known for playing Leanne Battersby in the ITV soap, replied with a red heart emoji, adding: "Congratulations." EastEnders star Charlie Brookes, famed for playing Janine Butcher in the BBC One soap, also shared a message, commenting: "You and Tash back together!! Jel. Amazing news my darling. Can’t wait to see it."
His announcement comes after he told the Manchester Evening News and other press that he wouldn't appear in another soap. When asked about his plans and what he’d like to do next, Charlie said: "I am ambitious but I’m also sort of directionless. It would be a shorter list to say what I don’t want to do. I by no means mean this to sound disparaging but the main thing is to not do another job like this [Corrie].
"One, I’ve done it and, two… wherever it was, whichever one of the other shows it would be there would never be another Georgia there or another Millie [Gibson - who plays Kelly Neelan] there and there will never be another Jane [Danson - Leanne Battersby] there.
"The experience I’ve had here is incomparable and to try and match it by going to another place like this, it would be diminished returns.”
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